After Gan-dak showed her off to his friend Tilia, a willowy, winged Ghelli woman, he announced that she could let her concentration drop and that Olivia had passed his exams. “I’m done? So I’m in?”

“Oh yes, you’re in, more than in; I’m going to recommend you receive a full scholarship with no service indenture.”

“Service indenture?”

“Yes, many students arrive without the ability to pay the exorbitant tuition, so the academy binds them in a service indenture for some time. I assume you don’t have several million Energy beads on your person?” He winked at her with a crooked grin.

“Uh, no, I don’t.” Olivia’s heart had started racing, but she tried to calm herself. He’d said she’d have a full scholarship, after all.

“Not to worry - your talent is among the top in our recruit pool. The school will want to make a friend of you. Professors will want to take you under their wings, you know, to get you to sign lifelong contracts with them. Hah. Don’t fret, don’t fret. Not everyone here will want to steal your freedom. But seriously,” here, his face grew grave, and he leaned forward to whisper, “don’t go signing any contracts until you’ve learned the ins and outs!”

“Oh, I’ve done my share of wrangling with corporate contracts and venture capitalists. Thank you for the warning, though.”

“Yes, I’m sure you’re quite savvy. Now, I’ll take you back to the lobby so Yunsha can get you set up with some supplies and your uniform and show you to your dorm group.”

“Dorm group?”

“Yes, I’m sorry to say, but first-year students share an open dormitory, even those as talented as you.” Once again, Gan-dak winked at her, and then he stood up. Olivia was impressed with his height - he’d give Morgan a run for his money. She followed him out to the lobby, where Yunsha sat scribbling in a little leather notebook. “Yunsha, here’s your charge! Treat her well, now.” With a short bow, Gan-dak turned and started to leave.

“Wait,” Olivia said, “thank you for your time, Professor Gan-dak.” She held her hand out for him to shake. He turned back to her, his grin widening, and then he gently took her hand in his.

“I’ll see you around, Miss Olivia. I’m sure you’ll eventually end up in one of my lectures.” With that, he turned and was gone through the door before Olivia could say any more.

“Hmm, you must have done well; he’s usually a great deal more surly than that.” Yunsha stood up and, with her hands on her hips, gave Olivia another good look. “Well, come on! Let’s get you registered. Gan-dak will have turned in your evaluation to the registrar on his way back to his office.” She walked through the door on the other side of the room, and Olivia followed. Yunsha led her a short distance down the hallway and stopped at a counter with an open window and a woman sitting on a tall stool. She was another Ghelli, with lovely, wavy copper-colored hair hanging down between her glistening wings. She wore a robe similar to Gan-Dak’s, and her bright, blue eyes glittered when she greeted Yunsha with a high, trilling voice, “Yunsha! Another new student? So close to the term? You’ve been busy!”

“Oh, she’s not a find of mine; she came in with a teleport token this morning.” Yunsha gestured for Olivia to come over to the window. “This is Olivia Bennet. You should have an evaluation there, from Gan-dak.”

“Pleased to meet you, Olivia! I’m Benla, and you can come to me if you ever have questions about your classes, registration, or benefits.”

“Thank you, um, it’s nice to meet you, also.” Olivia smiled, placing her hands on the counter and twining her fingers together. Benla turned around and walked to a wooden basket where a sheaf of papers sat stacked. She took the very top sheet and walked back over to the counter.

“Here it is, hot off the presses. Hmm, looks like Professor Gan-dak has recommended a full scholarship with no service indenture. Well, with these marks, I can see why. Still, I will need to get an approval stamp on this. Give me a couple of minutes, please, ladies.” Without waiting for an answer, Benla turned and walked out the door behind her.

“My, my. I’d like to get a look at that evaluation,” Yunsha said. Olivia looked down at her and saw that her head barely cleared the countertop. She wondered at the difficulty of creating a comfortable space for so many species. She didn’t reply to Yunsha’s statement right away, unsure what to say. “What was it that impressed him? Your Core?”

“Hmm? Oh, I suppose my Core and my affinity with different attunements.”

“Don’t play coy, child. I’ve been here a very long time. I’ll see the report eventually. Tut, don’t worry; I’ll keep an eye on you. If you make it through the first year culling, I might have an assistant position for you. We’ll see.” She reached up a gloved hand and gently patted Olivia’s clasped hands. “Don’t be nervous - the hard part is over for today.” Olivia sighed and let her hands relax a little. A couple of moments later, Benla came back in, smiling and humming to herself.

“Well, that went quickly; luckily, Director Orthal had a cancellation; I got right in.”

“That does sound lucky,” Olivia offered.

“Mmhmm.” Benla was busy stamping papers and dropping them into wooden trays, and then she lifted a smooth copper ring and a flat black stone about the size of a personal computer tablet. She set the ring on top of the flat stone and then put both onto the counter. “Okay, Olivia, when you rest your hand on this slate and send forth a trickle of your Energy, you’ll be registered at Fainhallow Academy. The ring will be imprinted with your identification, permissions, and a monthly stipend. Go ahead.” Olivia nodded and placed her palm on the cool stone slate. She sent out a trickle of Energy, and the stone flashed a bright magenta for a moment and then a pale blue. Before her eyes, intricate runes started to appear on the band of copper, seemingly carving themselves into the metal. When the ring was covered entirely in dimly glowing runes, it flashed, and then they faded to a darker color of copper. The slate went dark, and Benla said, “All done! You can put the ring on any finger you like.”

Olivia picked up the ring and slipped it onto the ring finger of her right hand. It shrank to fit, and she became aware of it, almost like she could feel the contents of her satchel when she concentrated on it. It was also imprinted with information:

***Olivia Bennet - First Year - Copper Cohort - 1000 Credits***

She was immediately aware that it was a sizable dimensional container, able to hold as much if not more than her blue satchel.

“Your ring will load with one thousand credits per month. It is not possible to bank them - the upper limit is one thousand, so use them or lose them!”

“Where do I spend them?” Olivia asked, gently turning the ring on her finger.

“All of the shops on the academy grounds accept academy credits. If you don’t want to venture out to the shops, you can use the credits to purchase meals and supplies here in the main academy building.”

“Well, thank you very much,” Olivia said, backing up from the counter and turning to Yunsha.

“Well, girl, let’s go get your uniforms, and then I’ll show you to your dormitory.” She waved to Benla and then turned, trusting that Olivia would follow her. Of course, Olivia did follow her, and they wound their way back to the main concourse hall and then into a hallway on the other side of the building. Feeling overwhelmed by the strangeness of everything, Olivia found herself looking at Yunsha’s back and not making eye contact with the dozens of other students they passed by. They went down a flight of stone steps and through a series of vaulted hallways until they came to a doorway labeled “Academy Supply Dispensary.”

Several Ardeni were working in the dispensary, and they gave Olivia a set of textbooks, notebooks bound in leather with beautiful cream-colored parchment within, and two pens that would have made a Manhattan banker jealous - polished wood with a silver cap and nib. The attendants assured her that they would last her for years; one had a fine point and the other a thick, reed-like tip for filling in shading. Yunsha said she should keep her school supplies in her ring because they wouldn’t want her to bring her satchel to some classes. After stowing her books, the attendants measured Olivia and asked her if she preferred trousers or skirts. Olivia thought about it and then asked, “What’s the trend among the students?”

“Ahh, smart - don’t want to stand out, do you?” Yunsha nodded. “Most of the females among the two-legged races are wearing skirts under their robes these days.” Olivia nodded to the attendant, and he hurried back to a cubby-covered wall to dig out uniforms that were approximately her size. Olivia could see several different colors in the cubbies, but the attendant brought her a stack of folded, light-gray robes, button-up shirts, skirts, and shiny black shoes. “Gray is for novices. If you make it through your courses this year, you’ll be promoted to apprentice and get the blue robes.”

“What’s after blue?”

“Hah, worry about this year, girl.” She winked at her to soften the words. “But if you must know, if you stay for a third year, you’ll be wearing burgundy, and if you make it past that, you’ll be studying under a master and wear black with a silver pin.” She tapped her pin, which Olivia hadn’t noticed until now, and she saw that it was shaped like a serpent in a figure eight and glinted with a golden luster. “Different pins for different cohorts, but gold is for masters. There, now I’ve given you something to dream about.” She chuckled and indicated the stack of clothing. Olivia nodded and swept it into her ring.

They walked back through the cold, stone hallways of basement level one, then up to the concourse. Yunsha picked a doorway a dozen yards from the one they came in, and after following it through another short hallway, they came to a stairway leading up. “Novices dorm on the third floor.” She started climbing the steps, and Olivia followed close behind. They passed the first landing without pause, and then on the third floor, they exited into a long, wide hallway with closed doors lining both sides. “Let’s see; which cohort were you in again?”

“My ring says Copper cohort.”

“Well, at least metallic grade, though Copper is going to be filled with scholarship recipients like you. Not that that’s bad - more of them are here on merit than in Silver or Gold. The ones to really watch out for are the gemstone cohorts, though - very competitive.” She emphasized “very” with a bit of a chuckle afterward. Olivia decided not to worry about it for the moment. “Hmm, let’s see here,” Yunsha said, walking down the hallway and looking at the various door labels. “Yep, there it is.” She stopped in front of a door, just like all the others, but it had a fancifully scripted “Copper” on the square placard. “In we go!” She twisted the handle and pushed the door open.

The door opened into a long, rectangular room with a high ceiling. Lining the walls of both sides of the room were three narrow beds and three plain wooden armoires. The room’s flooring consisted of well-worn wooden planks, the walls were plastered in a creamy white, and the high ceiling bore a dozen sets of exposed beams. Light came from a high chandelier emitting warm yellow light and from a large bay window at the far end of the dorm. Two couches sat facing each other in front of the window, and a bench piled with cushions lined the short wall beneath the glass. Olivia walked into the room, stepping on a long, plush, burgundy rug that ran the length of the room. Five faces turned toward her from the far end of the room.

Two people lounged on the couches with books on their chests; two others sat under the bay window, leaning conspiratorially toward each other. The fifth was lying on the rug between the couches, his arms cradling his head, as he and all the others stared at Olivia and Yunsha. Yunsha pushed Olivia forward gently and called out, “Copper cohort! This is your sixth member, Olivia. Show her her bed, go over your schedule and welcome her!” Then Yunsha turned toward the door and said more softly, “Good luck, Olivia; I’ll be watching you.”